Conventional bowling games are played by a method which depends on the order in which spares and strikes are scored by players in turn delivering balls at a triangulated ten-pin setup. The pins are numbered in numerical order from "1" to "10" beginning at the forward apex of the triangulated array of pins. The apex pin is numbered "1"; the next row of two pins is numbered "2" and "3", beginning at the left; the next row is numbered "4", "5" and "6", beginning at the left; and the last or back row is numbered "7", "8" "9" and "10", again beginning at the left. In conventional bowling games, a "strike" (knocking down all pins on a first ball) or a "spare" (knocking down all pins on two balls) require the addition of a pin count for pins knocked down in subsequent frames to the pin counts in earlier frames. Specifically, the number of pins knocked down by a player on the next two balls are added to any frame score where that player has recorded a strike, and the number of pins knocked down by a respective player on the next one ball are added to any frame score where that player has recorded a spare. This scoring system carries forward throughout all frames of a game.
It is quite difficult to maintain interest in bowling games wherein there is a range of skill between the respective players in the game. This is one of the main reasons why certain individuals lose interest and hope and, ultimately, give up on the sport. For instance, one member of a family may be considerably better and/or have acquired greater skills than another member of a family. It is quite difficult to provide a family fun game with such disparingly different levels of skill.
Heretofore, different skill levels have been accommodated by handicapping the different players. In other words, one player of a game of lesser skill may be "spotted" a given score value before a game even begins. However, even this attempt to accommodate different levels of skill for the players does not solve the problem because all of the players of the game still are rolling balls at the same pin setup and the level of play of a more skilled or experienced player continues to predominate.
There is a definite need for new methods of playing a bowling game which increase and enhance the public interest in the sport. This invention generally is directed to satisfying these needs and, particularly, to providing a new method of playing a bowling game wherein different players of different skill levels and/or experience can compete together in an interesting and satisfying game.